Google Is Developing an Android-Based Game Console? OUYA Should Start Sweating

Google is looking to disrupt yet another market by developing an Android-based game console. Citing “people familiar with the matter”, the Wall Street Journal said that this might be a tactical move by Google--an effort to get the jump on Apple, which may also be planning to build some sort of game console with its next Apple TV update.

What such a console from Google might look like is anyone’s guess, but the most obvious comparison would be the OUYA console, which runs on Android and has been met with a groundswell of support since it became a Kickstarter darling last summer. It’s far more likely that Google would try and develop something similar to OUYA rather than higher-end next-gen consoles like the Xbox One and PS4.

The game console will be developed and marketed by Google itself, most likely by the Android and Google X lab wings of the company.

The report also mentioned that Google is planning an Android-powered watch, which is nothing new, but the company may also be bringing back the ill-fatedNexus Q media player, at a price point that doesn’t make the stomach turn--$299 was way too much for the thing.

This development portends a near future where Android starts popping up all over, from cars to refrigerators, creating a new class of smart products. An Android-based game console, smartwatch, and media player appear to be the first devices to get the treatment.